• Spring

Fall 2000

• President's Memo
• Editorial: Business Unusual
• Regents Conference 9/13/2000
• NYSALB At NYLA
• Assemblywoman Naomi Matusow
• Senator Hugh Farley
• Legislative Update
• Fundraising: Corporate Sponsorship
• The Library Circuit
• The Gift of the Public Library
• NYSALB Board & TRUSTEE Ownership

by Davis Crippen, NYSALB President

Give credit where credit is due, I was taught, so I'm going to start by correcting a mistake I made in my last letter to you. As you may recall, much of my column had to do with new approaches to library service that our Trustee Institute attendees shared with each other this Spring at our meeting in Rochester. Some really good ideas, including a Family Fun Passes program. Under it various local organizations, such as museums and amusement parks, donate passes to the library which in turn circulates them for successive use by patrons -- Patron 1 borrows and returns, Patron 2 borrows and returns, and so on. A great idea, I'm sure you'll agree, but, I'm embarrassed to say, a program run by the Moffat Library of Washingtonville, not the Westchester Library System, as I reported. My apologies to both organizations.

As you may be aware, some months ago the New York State Board of Regents created a Commission on Library Services and charged it with looking at the condition of library service in the state and with making any recommendations necessary for improving it. The Commission has now reported back to the Regents with a wide range of recommendations to improve the state's library service, all of which we agree with. Throughout the Commission's deliberations the NYSALB Board was kept well informed of its progress. We were also offered and took the opportunity to make suggestions for improving the libraries of our state. Here we are not as happy with the results. I think a letter I signed on behalf of the Board best explains our position.

This is the text of that letter: "The Board of Directors of the New York State Association of Library Boards supports the principles outlined in the Commission's draft report. We are eager to work with all interested parties to do whatever needs to be done to see that these principles are embodied in legislation and become reality.

"We recognize that the report as it now stands covers a wide range of library issues and that not every change that would be helpful in improving library service in the state could be included in it. We do want to note, however, our disappointment that the report sets forth new policy goals without addressing in any meaningful way the engagement and participation of library trustees. Yet trustees are the very people responsible for setting library policy in communities throughout the state."

That was the Board's letter, then; a letter, I would say, of general agreement and mild protest. As the letter indicates, though the Commission's recommendations are not as far-reaching as we would like, the NYSALB Board and, I'm sure, the rest of our membership, stand ready to do what we can to see that these recommendations are implemented as fully as possible.

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by Edwin M. Field, NYSALB Director, TRUSTEE Editor

It looks like many of us are going to have to get down to business. The way legislative library funding on most levels is proceeding, fund raising on both a minor and major scale may have moved to a priority item on your library's agenda. This is especially true in the area of building programs.

Fund raising for libraries, or for that matter most non-profits, usually divide into two recognizable categories. There are the "sustaining" or "annual giving" programs which provide funds for projects and items not requiring huge resources. The other type of fund raising seeks "big money" and is generally called a capital campaign. The process involves community fiscal support on many different giving levels, corporate giving, grants and a "campaign" or a well-organized effort on the part of the library board of trustees and select community members.

The trustee suggestions, which follow, were developed over many years of actual involvement with capital campaigns. The suggestions are not set in stone and are completely flexible both in content and practice.

1- Interview at least three fund raising firms before making a decision. Remember that the individuals who will make the presentation before your library board are good sales people. They may not, however, be the people who will work on your campaign.

2- Try to determine who, from the fund raising firm, will actually work on your library campaign. Obtain his or her background, experience, and references from past campaigns. Insist on the opportunity to interview this individual and check references in the area in which he or she has worked in order to make an educated decision as to whether your group and your community will be compatible with him or her.

3- Make sure that the fund raising firm's contract contains a clause allowing your library to replace the firm's campaign person without any type of penalty or extra cost. As an example, the representative may usually operate in a part of the country where high pressure fund raising is the norm. Your trustees and potential donors may not be comfortable with this approach.

4- Determine in advance any additional costs of the fund raising firm's campaign office staff and housing/office requirements. These expenses can add up.

5- Most fund raising firms will take on a campaign only after they have completed a "feasibility" study. The study will give the fundraisers an insight into the probability of the campaign's success in your community. Provide the feasibility director with a representative selection of community people so that the study is on sound ground. Check on any extra cost for this process.

6- A "case study" most often precedes the actual launching of a fund raising campaign. This written piece is used to tell potential donors about your library, the needs and donor benefits. Determine who will do the actual creative and writing preparation of this piece and any additional costs for which the library will be responsible.

7- Library trustees should understand that although a fund raising firm is to be hired, the library trustees will have the actual responsibility for going to potential donors and asking for the fund raising giftsŠespecially from the potentially large donors. An unwritten rule of fundraising is that those who go to others seeking funds will first have given themselves.

8- As for the fund raising firm's fees, it is wise never to select a company who works on a percentage of funds raised. Ethical fundraisers charge a fee based on staff time involved no matter how much is raised during the campaign. Campaigns require a discipline; a momentum and strong leadership and with rare exceptions it is difficult for internal members to do this effectively.

9- Make sure you do hire a fund raising firm. There may be those in your group who claim they (or someone they know) can handle the job better and cheaper. If there is a campaign slow down or break down, usually there is no second chance. It will take years before you can start another successful campaign.

10- Put the campaign ground rules down on paper before signing the fund raising firm's contract. Understand and mark down the responsibilities of both the library and the fund raising firm. responsibilities.

11- An annual giving or sustaining program often follows a successful major fund raising campaign. However, the two can be completely separate entities.

For information about locating fund raising companies, check the pages of Fund Raising Management magazine (Hoke Communications 224 Seventh Street, Garden City, NY 11530-5771 - 800-229-6700); and the National Society of Fund Raising Executives Foundation (1101 King Street, Suite 700, Alexandria, VA 22314 - 800-666-FUND)

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The Board of Regents will hold a Regents Legislative Public Policy Conference on Wednesday, September 13, 2000 starting at 8:45 a.m. It will be held in the State Education Building, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, Persons interested in the library related portion of the program will find the conference focusing on the issue "Into the Future: Regents Commission Recommendations and Library Legislation" from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For additional information on the Regents Conference including participating in the program, contact Linda Procak, NYS Education Department (518) 474-1488.

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NYSALB is hosting two panels at the New York Library Association's annual meeting in Saratoga Springs, this November. They are both on Saturday, November 4, 2000.

• S-7-10: 10 a.m.-11:15 a.m., Library Commission Impact On Trustees
• SE-6: 11:45a.m.-1 p.m., Library Internet Policies, Law and the lst Ammendment

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You may already know that the New York State Library was recently selected to participate in an exciting model advocacy program called COMMUNITIES AND LIBRARIES: An Advocacy Training Program. The program, developed by Libraries for the Future, is designed to create a statewide framework for mobilizing community support and advocacy efforts. The New York State Library was one of nine state libraries selected for the program. It couldn't come at a better time. The key to increased library funding is effective advocacy.

As Chair of the New York State Assembly's Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I am heartened by the additional $ 5 million in this year's budget. Allocation of this money did not come easily. Through the steadfast advocacy work of the library community in conjunction with letters and visits to elected officials, our voices are capturing and commanding attention.

With election season fast approaching, now is the time to step up your advocacy efforts and garner a commitment to the support of libraries from both incumbents and candidates for public office. Demand their attention.

Demonstrate the strength of your numbers. Remind legislators, the Governor, and candidates alike that library trustees, staff members and library cardholders make up a significant percentage of the voting public that cannot be ignored. Meet with the candidates. Convene, attend, and participate at candidate forums. Send letters, faxes and e-mails. Make it known that the needs of libraries must be addressed. Impress upon the candidates that those who commit to supporting libraries, financially and otherwise, will gain your support in return.

Ordinarily, libraries are associated with whispers, hushed tones, and the quiet enjoyment of all the resources they have to offer. Now is the time to make some noise! As the saying goes: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Squeak, shout, yell, and roar! If we can mobilize our forces for the upcoming elections, and make our passion, power and influence known, our libraries will get that well-deserved "grease." Educate your candidates about the incalculable value to the community of the services provided. Regale them with your success stories. Once you've succeeded in inspiring them, confront them with the harsh reality of needs yet to be fulfilled. In spite of the inexcusable shortage of state funding, you have already achieved wondrous things and deserve unlimited praise. Remember, too, that there is still much work to be done.

In the nearly two years I have served as Chair of the Assembly's Libraries and Education Technology Committee, I have been privileged to meet many trustees and library staff from throughout New York State. I have enjoyed tours of many libraries, attended informative conferences, and conducted a successful hearing at the Brooklyn Public Library during which several authors testified on the importance of libraries. Many of you have contacted me in my Albany and district offices with questions, concerns, suggestions and ideas. I have been introduced to an array of exciting and successful programs that have been developed, implemented, and shared by New York's libraries. Above all, I am most impressed by your passion for libraries. You are devoted advocates for and champions of our public libraries.

In my dual role as legislator and Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I thank you for your ongoing efforts. Working as partners, we will succeed in improving library facilities and services. I encourage you to call upon me whenever there is some way in which I can be of assistance in this very important work.

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The State Senate and Assembly have passed and sent to the Governor legislation (S.6719/A.9516 Farley/Matusow) which takes a moderate approach to the difficult issue of Internet access in public libraries. The bill requires public libraries which provide public Internet access to establish a policy governing patron use of these computers. If approved by the Governor, these provisions would take effect immediately upon his signing the legislation.

The bill drew relatively little debate, either on the floors of the Senate and the Assembly, or among the general public. It was passed by a vote of 146 to one in the Assembly, and by 58 to one in the Senate. Senator Duane, casting the single negative vote in the Senate, expressed his concern that explicit authority for establishment of local policies might lead to some libraries choosing to impose filtering.

While the legislation is really very simple -- it consists of only two sentences and is only five lines long -- the topic is very complex.

Arguments on all sides of the Internet access issue are passionate and sophisticated. The Internet itself is a "wild and woolly frontier" of information and misinformation, an ultimate test for good information consumers who must constantly question and test the validity of the data and conclusions presented. Internet access from the public library is a critical component in bridging the gap between "information haves" and "information have-nots." It represents, however, a challenge to library patrons who have come to expect the expertise of professional librarians as moderators and guides in the selection and validation of traditional library materials.

Should the Governor sign the bill into law, the State Library's Division of Library Development stands ready to assist local libraries in designing and implement an Internet usage policy. One existing policy, which could be a model in many areas, has been adopted by the Shenendehowa Public Library (www.shenpublib.org) in suburban Saratoga County.

Shenendehowa's policy consists of both general statements and specific conditions of use. Among the former are the statements that: "The Library upholds and affirms the right of each individual to have access to constitutionally protected materials. Thus adult patrons are responsible for proper use of the Internet for themselves and their children," and;

"The Internet sites listed on this website are maintained by others around the world. The Library is not responsible for their content or accuracy. Users of the Internet need to be good information consumers, questioning the validity of the information."

Specific use conditions include the requirement that prospective Internet users read the policy and procedures, accept library staff monitoring "for assistance and security," sign up for limited blocks of computer time on a "first come, first served" basis, refrain from software modification or license violations, and pay for special services such as diskettes and printing. The library does not provide Internet access to e-mail, chat rooms, and Usenet newsgroups.

I think that this legislation provides a fair opportunity for local communities to recognize the benefits as well as the hazards of access to unmoderated information resources, and to help patrons bridge the "information gap" with knowledge and understanding.

(As of this writing, the Governor had not taken final action on the bill. Trustees may wish to monitor the status of this and other legislation by using resources such as the State Senate's web site at www.senate.state.ny.us.)

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By Parry D. Teasdale, NYSALB Trustee and Legislative Chair

As of mid-August, the legislature and governor had not yet determined how to spend the additional $5 million they approved for libraries in the 2000-01 state budget. The money can't be released until they agree. Even as we await their decision we have to get right back to work, because lawmakers did not make this increase part of continuing library aid.

Two years ago, the New York Library Association decided to press for over $66 million in new funding. The Regents thought they had to make more politically modest request, so last year they asked for $22.6, and libraries got zilch. This year NYLA returned with the same major plan, Books, Bricks and Bytes, and the Regents upped the ante a tad to $23 million. Lo and behold, libraries got (the unspecified) $5 million! What was different this year? There's an election this fall, for one thing.

And the high visibility in the press of the NOVEL online library plan, started by the State Library and picked up by the Regents Commission on Library Services, made library funding harder to ignore.

After this year's budget had been announced, library advocates met by teleconference with Regent Bob Johnson, head of the Regents' Cultural Education Committee. By the end of that meeting, which included Commissioner of Education Richard Mills and Regent Jim Dawson, Johnson seemed to endorse the notion that asking for more money, as NYLA suggests, will give libraries a better chance for a bigger slice of the budget pie. The process of crafting the next request starts in mid-September with the Regents' legislative proposal conference.

At the federal level, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has taken up the cause of library funding. He plans to introduce what he calls the Carnegie II bill in the Senate after the fall election. The bill will seek $1 billion for libraries nationwide. He's been visiting libraries around the state to announce the initiative.

Schumer would allow libraries to use the money for new construction, renovation or technology, but not for operating expenses. The money would pay for up to half of a project, with the money coming from the federal budget surplus. So far his plan has no sponsor in the House. Schumer is asking library advocates to talk to their elected officials and ask for their support for the idea.

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Rebekkah Smith, Mid-Hudson Library System Development & Advocacy Associate; ATM-FUNDRAISING Listserv manager and editor

On June 27th I attended Fundraising Day in New York 2000, "America's Largest One-Day Conference on Philanthropy," sponsored by The Greater New York Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. I spent my afternoon session learning about corporate sponsorships.

The panel supplied attendees with excellent tips for approaching corporations for grants and other types of sponsorship. Robin Rosenbluth, Director of Development for Institutional Giving at the Beth Israel Medical Center, began by identifying what may seem obvious to some, why Corporations give to charity:

• To enhance the company's local and national exposure, i.e., via Internet access, naming opportunities, ability to distribute its products at events, etc.:
• To link the corporate name with the nonprofit's good name;
• To supply an opportunity to create positive ties with community leaders;
• To Influence public policy;
• To improve a bad corporate image.

The Target: Which corporation(s) should you target?

• Check your local papers for new corporations that are locating in your area. Are they looking for an audience? Maybe you can help them.
• Check the phone book, who has local offices in your area?
• Get copies of corporations' annual reports and see what other organizations they have funded over the years.
• Does your organization own stock in any corporations?

The Approach: Many corporations have a foundation, this may be the most apparent and accessible choice, however, keep in mind some of these alternatives:

• Local business offices and community affairs offices;
• CEO's and other senior officials: they often are given up to $25,000 in discretionary income to donate;
• Product and marketing representatives often have dollars devoted both for advertising and educational programs;
• Front-line sales representatives, motivated by sales margins, may recognize that doing something for an organization can be beneficial;
• Advertising officers are often the source for cause related marketing;
• Corporate human resources department for corporate volunteerism and corporate matching gifts.

The Contact: It is very important to have a personal connection with someone in the corporation. Make sure you are speaking to the right person about a sponsorship for your library. Don't stalk them!

Let the person know about the library, send them your press releases, invite them to an event you are holding. Test the waters for sending in a request, cold letters (letters that come to a funder out of the blue) are rarely funded according to Mark Monteverdi, District Manager of Public Relations at AT&T. Package your written request after conversing with your contact, give them what they want."

Once you have arranged to submit an application or letter of request be judicious about calling your contact. Call to let them know you are sending a document, call to confirm that it arrived and at that point ask when would be an appropriate time to check back with them. These are very busy people who will appreciate your efficiency and consideration.

The written approach: The Corporate Ask!

• Short and sweet, usually not more than 3 pages.
• Describe the uniqueness and stature of the project, institution, or organizational leadership.
• Write about the library in ways that reflects on the corporate interests.
• Quantify whenever possible, such as the number of people reached and/or influenced, etc.
• Make note of any shared legislators.
• Focus on the corporate geographical range.
• Let them know how becoming a corporate partner will help them (without directly suggesting that the gift will increase sales!) i.e. additional database of consumers, enhancement of corporate visibility.
• Provide "giving choices" (i.e. one or more computer workstation, signage or a specific piece of a building project).

All panelists mentioned how important it is for an organization to be responsive to a sponsor. "Stay in touch, and say "THANK YOU," said Noel Hankin, Vice President, Corporate Affairs for Schieffelin & Somerset, you can never say, "thank you too often!"

Stay Tuned: The e fundraising forum Project of the Mid-Hudson Library System will launch a new tool for library trustees this fall "The Forum" an interactive discussion board devoted to fundraising issues. The first featured expert will be Susan Love, the fundraising consultant that headed the Millbrook Library's capital campaign, a campaign that raised over $2 million. Once launched The Forum will reside at: http://midhudson.org/virtual/efundraising/default.htm

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By Marcella O'Hanlon, NYSALB Trustee

When visiting Lindenhurst, Long Island, NY, stop in and see the Lindenhurst Memorial Library, including its most recent addition, a 22-foot commemorative stained-glass window project, called "Windows on Wellwood". Just over 55 years ago, the Lindenhurst Memorial Library was established and dedicated to the memory of the military veterans who served our nation.

It bears the name of "Memorial" and shall forever be a living memorial to those who gave their lives for our freedom. The board of trustees, director, veterans, friends, local legislators, and community have reinforced this message with the installation of Windows on Wellwood and Salute to Veterans Star Dedication.

This crowning achievement has been highlighted in the August 2000 issue of American Libraries Magazine and online with NYLINE July 2000. It may also be seen by visiting our website at: www.suffolk.lib.ny.us/libraries/lind/windows.html.

NY State chartered Lindenhurst Memorial Library in 1946 and to date has current holdings of 230,000 with Special Collections such as the Lindenhurst Star Newspaper on microfilm, a Local History Collection, Parent Collection, and Business Collection. LML is a school district library that operates with a 5 Member Board, 66 skilled staff members, 38,000 registered borrowers, and an annual circulation of 421,444. Our library added 14,650 new materials including books, videos, books on tape, and DVDs. We offer bus trips, exhibits, book talks, children and adult programs of interest to our library users. We increased the number of library computers available to access the Internet and local databases.

The library offered 793 educational and cultural programs and expanded resources available to patrons with home computers who wanted to conduct research from the comfort of their own homes. We are especially proud of the LML website, please visit when you get the chance!

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by Dr. William Taber, NYSALB Trustee

Summer is a time for recuperation by whatever means may be appropriate to our lifestyle. It may be a time of vacation, a time of changed work, perhaps just a time of release from the frigidities of winter.

However, even in summertime, deadlines should be met, and I am about to miss this one. It was moved up this year for editorial reasons, but I can't use this for an excuse. The truth is that I am about to embark on a several week journey to the West in a popup tent trailer with my cousin, Paul Girsdansky (now a high school librarian), to submerge myself (but not him) in the geological wonders and spectacles of the newer side of our continent. For weeks, I have been resurrecting my prior (amateur) knowledge of geology, studying geological history and paleogeography, pouring over maps, reading descriptions and explanations of various sites in the Rockies and the Northwest, and relating photographs with topography and places. I want to have some structure of prior knowledge with which to arm myself so that the sights that I will see will be meaningful as well as simply beautiful or curious. A mountain is not just a lump of stuff but a record of titanic events and forces that only knowledge can allow us to feel and understand when we look at its results. (Paul feels this way about baseball fields; to me, it is just a field that has been trampled upon too much.)

My mind has not been focused upon libraries this summer. The library has been functioning perfectly well without me (despite my stopping in nearly every day to pick up or return books), and the problems have been routine. But the deadline approaches; how can I switch my mind to libraries

Suddenly and gratefully, I realized that my life and mind had not moved from libraries at all; for I have been using the library intensely these last couple of months! I have been more patron than trustee.

My personal collection of books and texts are the foundation for my study, but they were soon exhausted since I had never focused before upon the west coast. The body of knowledge that became most useful to me has been the gift of the public library and of the marvel of interlibrary loan. Without the public library, this period of distraction from library issues would not have been possible.

I won't describe the interesting things that I learned about the geological history of what I intend to see except to mention that this trip (in anticipation) is now much richer than initially thought. The same gift of the public library would have occurred if my -- or your -- interest were to be in social history, mammalian life, technological innovation, art, moral innovations (this is the West Coast after all), or a thousand other subjects of curiosity, even baseball.

For us in our role of library trustee, this gift of the public library is the patron's opportunity to delve extensively into a subject matter, not just to grab a few quick morsels of fact from other sources of information.

Yes, I did go to the Internet in my search. I did go through the National Park system, many local web pages, quite a number of geologically oriented sites. They all added to the trip plans. But the key resource that shaped my thinking was the deep reservoir of books, each one of which represented years of work and thought by their authors, that I had accessed directly through the library. In fact, I almost wish that I had more time to continue reading before I leave.

As this function of the library is so valuable, we should publicize it more to our public. Here in our library is where you can really delve into an interest. Here is where you can get enough background in a subject to understand it, not just to recognize it. Here is where you can escape our snippet culture that fills the mind but makes it more confused and superficial. These are the ways to use the electronic catalog to find a lot of material about what interests you. This is why you shouldn't stop with just one book. Here is where you can get many books on a subject. This is why you may find in your search many unexpected things of interest; follow them up. (To my surprise, I now look forward to driving through Iowa -- thanks to something I found in the library.) I suggest that even small libraries nowadays can and should make a big deal publicly of the opportunities that we offer for research in depth through the use of computerized catalogs and interlibrary loans and reference help.

Ironically, the increasingly ubiquitous nature of access to Internet's quick factoids and mass media's sound bite approach to passing news may have created an opportunity to promote the public library to most of the population born after 1975 as something "new": a doorway to exploring a patron's interest in far more depth and at some leisure, a release from the usual frenetic barrage of the trivial.

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Vol. XI, No. 4, Fall 2000

is a publication of The New York State Association of Library Boards

TRUSTEE TRUSTEE is published quarterly. The New York State Association of Library Boards owner, Edwin M. Field, editor. Periodical class postage paid at Rensselaer, NY and an additional mailing office. Printed in the USA. As a non-profit organization authorized to mail at special rates (Section 132.122, Postal Manual) the purpose, functions and non-profit status organization and the exempt status for Federal income tax purposes have not changed in the preceding 12 months. Extent and Nature of Circulation "average" figures denote the number of copies printed each issue during the preceding 12 months. "Actual figures denote number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, the January issue. Total number of copies printed: avg. 3134; actual 3200. Paid circulation: not applicable (i.e. no sales through dealers, carriers street vendors and counter sales.) Mail subscription: avg. 3134; actual 3134. Free distribution: avg. 12; actual 12. Total distribution: 3146. Spoilage avg., 54. Total sum of previous two entries: 3200. Subscription $10.00 annually per subscriber is a benefit of paid membership. USPS#010-872, ISSN:1085-3170. Volume XI Issue #4, Postmaster: Please send address changes to NYSALB, 3 Douglas Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144.

NYSALB

3 Douglas Avenue

Rensselaer, NY 12144

Phone: 518-286-2150 FAX: 518-283-8085

EDITOR: Edwin M. Field, efield@catskill.net

WEBMASTER: Norman J. Jacknis, norm@jacknis.com

PRESIDENT: Davis Crippen, davis.crippen@worldnet.att.net

1st VICE PRESIDENT: Norman J. Jacknis

2nd VICE PRESIDENT: Nancy Simaitis

TREASURER: Audrey J. Smith

SECRETARY: Martina Thompson

ASSOCIATION MANAGER: Christine Paulsen

DIRECTORS:

Davis Crippen, Piermont

Edwin M. Field, Monticello

Dr. Norman J. Jacknis, Cortlandt Manor

Mary Jo Ketchum, Elma

David Bruce Krogmann, Glens Falls

George Manitzas, Freeport

Marcella O'Hanlon, Lindenhurst

Mable Robertson, Brooklyn

Judy Rosen, Albany

Nancy Simaitis, Waverly

Audrey J. Smith, Nunda

Richard Strauss, Memphis

Dr. William Taber, Richfield Springs

Parry D. Teasdale, Phoenicia

Martina Thompson, Pittsford

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